Purpose of the MTW Standard Agreement

The Standard Agreement has been executed by 39 MTW Agencies and HUD in order to:

• Reduce confusion for MTW agencies by providing consistent, clear, and standardized language;
• Transition MTW from a demonstration to a longer-term, operationally sound program;
• Ensure that MTW agencies report outcome information to HUD to evaluate the effects of MTW policy changes on residents, the agency's operations, and the local community.

Overview of the MTW Standard Agreement

When MTW began, each MTW PHA had a unique Agreement with HUD regarding the conditions of its participation and exceptions to statute and regulation. These original agreements also had terms of varying lengths; some ran for as little as five years and others as long as seven years. Amendments to extend the term or add additional exceptions and flexibilities were common, which over time lowered HUD's quality and level of service to MTW agencies. In 2006 HUD made the decision to develop a new MTW agreement that expanded and standardized the authorizations granted to MTW agencies. The MTW Standard Agreement incorporates many elements of HUD's original MTW Agreements with the participating agencies, but contains more rigorous and consistent reporting requirements. The initial term of the Standard Agreement was to the end of each agency's 2018 fiscal year.  In 2016 and at the direction of Congress, HUD extended the term of the Standard Agreement to the end of each agency’s 2028 fiscal year.

Under the Standard Agreement, an MTW agency must include any new MTW initiatives in an Annual MTW Plan and have the Plan approved by HUD prior to implementation. Agencies provide information on the items listed in Attachment B of the MTW Agreement in their Plan, which includes evaluation metrics, authorizations and descriptions of the anticipated impact.

Components of the MTW Standard Agreement

The Standard Agreement and Attachments B and C are the same for all MTW PHAs. Attachments A and D are tailored to each individual agency.